As we sank deeper, the water became darker, and soon the city outside became enveloped by the gloom of the deep. Though not for long. As the gloom intensified, the buildings started glowing with a soft golden light. The glow intensified, and soon the city was as bright as if it were bathed in the sun of a late summer afternoon. It also caused the water to refract the light in many beautiful colors. The light refractions cast strange, wavey light patterns over the buildings and anyone and everything traveling between them.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?” I glanced over at Miva and Meleri, who were both sitting in silence as they looked out over the surreal sight. “Oh, by-the-by, this isn’t even the best part. Since it’s just past midsummer, Mellowmere should still be holding their midsummer fair. There should be stalls to check out, games to play, prizes to win…” I paused for a moment as I glanced over at Ivy. “… Tasty food to eat.” as expected, this caused her to make a happy trilling sound.

  I could see both Miva and Meleri smile at the sound as well. “That being said, we will be heading out after dinner. I fear my wallet won’t survive otherwise.” I glanced over at Ivy with a coy smile. She crossed her arms and gave me an annoyed look. “Ha ha, very funny.” She flitted over to Soot and landed on his head. “Morgana’s being mean, Soot.” He chirped a few times in reply, as he didn’t want to take sides.

  Just then, the door opened again. “Milady, dinner should be done by the time the city settles on the lake's bottom. As such, may I request you move to the dining room?” I turned my attention towards Irin. “Sure, the view is good enough from the window in there, anyway. Meleri would you be so kind as to wake Irenji, so he doesn’t miss out on the food?”

  Meleri nodded and headed over to the couch where she left the sleeping pup earlier. I waited for her while the rest of them followed Irin to the dining room. The pup made some annoyed noises as Meleri coaxed him awake, but the mention of food soon saw the pup eager to join in.

  As we entered the kitchen, Irin served a nice meaty stew with potatoes and carrots on the side, and diced meat for the familiars and Irenji. As she filled my plate, she gave me a warm smile. “I know you requested this for later, but it has been so long since my services have been needed, I just couldn’t help myself.” I got a taste of the stew. It was mild and savory, with a rich aftertaste. In short, it was fantastic.

  “Oh, that’s alright, Irin. In fact, I should apologize for arriving late. I intended to come a few days back, but several unexpected events happened one after another, and so I didn’t have a choice but to postpone it.” Irin remained quiet as she hurried over to fetch something to drink for us all. Too shy to reply, I assumed. Well, no matter. Irin did a fantastic job looking after the place and was a fantastic cook. I could more than accept a few of her oddities.

  A growl from below caught my attention. Irenji and Midnight were sharing a bowl of meat. Irenji was offering Midnight a large meat slice. Quite the gentlewolf, wasn’t he? Midnight, for her part, graciously accepted the offering. It was nice to see the two get along. “Oh, Irin, Eira will be arriving sometime tomorrow. Just thought you ought to know.” Irin blinked a few times, before her leafy face broke into a warm smile. “Oh, how delightful. I haven’t seen her in years now. I will inform the sentries, wouldn’t want any accidents, after all.” After giving Irin a smile of my own, I resumed eating. “Thanks Irin. This tastes great, as always.”

  After we were done eating, I saw Melei pull Irin to the side for a moment. If I were to venture a guess, they were swapping recipes. After all, cooking was one of the few topics that wouldn’t trigger Irin’s shyness with strangers. “Well then everyone, we should soon be-” As if on cue there was a distant sound of an impact and a slight tremor. “And the city has settled on the bottom of the lake. Give it another 20 minutes for the water to be pushed out, and we should be good to go.”

  I could see that Miva was curious, but she didn't ask. She was learning, it would seem. Instead, she bent down and began scratching Irenji behind his ears, much to the puppy’s delight. Meleri noticed from where she was speaking with Irin and both of them smiled as they watched the two play together.

  A bit later, we could see the water being forced away from the window. “Well then, we can head out now.” I took the lead to show them the regular exit. I considered using the carpet, but why ruin the surprise early? As we left, Irin waved after us. “Have fun now. I’ll be heading to the sentry station to mention Eira’s arrival while you’re out!” I waved back, along with Ivy and Miva. “Oh, I am sure we will, have a safe trip.”

  I lead the group down the hallway and down the communal stairway. “So, the fair itself is a marvelous and takes place after midsummer’s night. Today is the last day, too, so we were lucky in that regard.” I opened the door leading out into the city. “As you as on the surface, the city’s rather beautiful, but it has nothing how it looks beneath the waves.” I stepped aside and let Miva and Meleri see clearly.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  The city was the same, yet different. The refractions from before were now even more intense, causing the buildings to have a constant moving light pattern across every surface that made it seem like they were fluid. Along the road were stone pillars with small shining balls on top, banishing any remaining gloom. Along the tiled road, numerous Torgols and Leaf Folk were heading in towards the center of town.

  As we walked along the street, we could see decorations and other signs of the fair make their presence known. Overhead, a long string with colorful small paper triangles were strung up, crisscrossing the street numerous times. In the distance, we could hear drums and hollering of a crowd.

  As we got even closer to the fairground, the crowds got bigger, and stalls appeared along the road. “Please don’t scatter until we are on the fairground proper. These stalls are just selling food, anyway.” There was a trilling noise from Ivy, but to her credit, she remained in place atop Soot’s head.

  As we stepped into a large square whose outer ring was covered in stalls, and the inner circle was used as a dance floor, I turned towards the others. “Alright, Miva and Meleri, you haven’t been here before, so please hold out your hands, the rest of you, similar appendages, please.” They all did, though Miva, Meleri and even little Irenji seemed confused. I closed my eyes for a moment and a moment later a small triangle mark appeared above their hands, paws and wings.

  “That triangle will point towards me at all times, in case you get lost. Have fun now. Oh, and when the mark turns red, it’s time to meet back up and head to bed. No dilly-dallying, alright? Now then…” I dug around in my pouch. “Here you all are.” I gave all of them a token. “Show them this, and it will all be billed to me. And Ivy, if I get another bill like last year you are BANNED from joining us on this event, for life, got it? I am not saying you can’t enjoy yourself, but two hundred gold is a lot.”

  Ivy’s viridian light went pink for a moment. “I got it, Morgana, and… sorry bout that, it won’t happen again, promise.” I reached out to her. “No need to go that far. Still, good to know I won’t have a repeat. Now then have fun, you all, and if you need me for anything just touch the mark, say my name, and I’ll be right there.” I waved them off, and they ran off in every direction to explore and have fun.

  With them gone, I took a deep breath, before turning away from the main square and headed towards one of the nearest booths. This was going to be a fun night. The first booth I approached was a simple ball tossing game. Three tosses to get as many of the stacked bottles to topple. A simple game, and one that I was familiar with. The first toss god five of them down, not bad. While the second left me with one. The last ball clipped the final bottle. It wobbled and wobbled and... Damn it.

  I shook my head at the offer to try again. Better not, besides there was more to see, more to try. As I wandered among the stalls, I glimpsed Ivy and Soot. They were over at another booth and seemed to have an argument with the Torgol that was running it. Another Torgol was standing beside Soot and Ivy, watching. I stepped over. “-you have any proof?”

  It was the Torgol that was speaking. “I see it clear as day. Those darts are enchanted. Besides, I- oh hi, Mistress, get a load of this fraud.” I arched an eyebrow. “Care to explain what’s going on here?” Soot nodded to the target where several darts were stuck, none at the bullseye. “The darts are enchanted to get repelled by the bullseye. We noticed it as we flew past. She’s been fleecing people all night.”

  Really now? I turned towards the Torgol. “I’m telling you, the birds lying.” Something about her demeanor struck me as odd. Not to mention her way of speaking was decidedly… un-Torgol. Something was off about all of this, even if she wasn’t cheating. “Well now, those are some serious allegations.” As I spoke, I was silently casting a spell to identify all magical effects that were active inside that booth.

  The Torgol gave me a strange look. “Yeah? What concern is it to you?” My spell finished. I stepped up to the edge of the booth. “It is my concern, considering I have a vested interest in protecting the Torgol, speaking of which…” I lashed out and yanked her over the booth and slammed her into the ground. As I did so, I was also dispelling the transformation she was under.

  “Well now, last I checked, Humans weren’t exactly welcome in town. Soot, be a dear and fetch the guards.” Soot nodded, then flew off. I turned my attention to the woman underneath me. “You know, I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but trying to defraud the Torgols during the fair is one of the stupidest things you could have done. Even if I didn’t catch you, the guards would have been on to you before the night was over. Not to mention they don’t take kindly to humans, regardless.”

  As I finished speaking, I could hear hurried footsteps, and Soot returned with the guards. I dragged the woman to her feet. She tried to get out of my grip. However, she might as well have tried to lift a mountain, for all the good her struggles did her. The guards, Leaf Folk and Torgol both, grabbed her without a word and dragged her off. “Friend, Morgana, how did human get in, you think?”

  I turned around and looked at the speaking Torgol. I didn’t notice earlier, but it was Cure. That explained why Soot and Ivy stood up for her so willingly. I shook my head. “Difficult to say. My primary worry, right now, is how she even knew where the city was to begin with. If she associated with someone in town, it might be a good idea to investigate those individuals too, just in case.”

  Cure nodded. “Will see to it. Thanks again, friends. Enjoy the evening!” With that, she waved and ran off after the guards. As she left, another set of guards cleared out the booth, with great care to not break anything. If we were lucky, this was just a singular incident.